Electric sign



W. SWALLOW.

ELECTRIC SIGN.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-3| 1917.

1 ,338, 1 98, Patented'Apr. 27, 1920;.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

wan swmow attache w. SWALLOW.

ELECTRIC SIGN.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.3,19I7.

1,338, 198, v Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

awuemtoz W9 LT 5 WHLLOW duo-cum WALTER SWAIJIIOW, OF ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS.

ELEc'raIc SIGN.

Application filed March 3.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WALTER SALLOW, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rock Island, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Signs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to electric signs and has for its primary object to provide an electrical advertising sign which is so constructed that the letters or other characters may be easily and quickly applied to or removed from the sign structure, whereby the making of necessary repairs will be greatly facilitated. I J

It is another important object of the invention to provide an improved construction of the sign letter or character, thesame being in the form of a single, channel-shaped, metal casting which is provided with suitable means for the attachment of the sign character to the board or body of the sign by invisible fastening devices, the contact plugs or bolts projecting into the channel portions of the sign character, the walls of which are provided with threaded openings, to receive the lamp plugs.

, It is an additional general object of the invention to provide an electric advertising sign, the several parts of which are of very simple construction and may be readily as sembled, the sign as a whole presenting a very neat and attractive appearance.

Vith the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure-1 is a front elevation of a sign constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary rear elevation, the backboard being removed;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation, the sign letter or character being removed;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view; and

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the sign characters.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I employ a frame whichmay be of any desired form and outline and of any preferred dimensions. This frame is made up of a plurality of wood strips 5 of oak Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

1917. Serial No. 152,332.

or other suitable wood, and at their abutting ends are mitered, as at 6, to provide a close joint. These mitered ends of the frame strips are securely held against relative spreading or separating movement by the corrugated metal fastening strips 7 which are embedded or driven into the wood and disposed at right angles to the line of the beveled contacting faces of the frame strips; The inner edge of each of the frame strips is rabbeted, as at 8, to receive the edges of the body board 9 upon which the sign characters to be hereinafter described in detail, are detachably mounted. Suitable fastening pins or brads 10 are driven into the frame strips 5 and project inwardly over the edges of the body board 9 to retain the latter in the rabbets 8.

In the drawing, I have shown contact screws 11 disposed through the body board 9, said screws being arranged in the outline of each particular letter and corresponding in number to the number of lamps to be provided for the letter. The headed ends of these screws are countersunk in the rear face of the board 9 and a nut 12 is threaded upon each contact screw to engage the outer or front face of said board. On the front side of the board 9, the several contact screws 11 are connected to each other by a current conducting wire 13. The board 9 is further provided with a series of suitably spaced openings 14 which are employed for a purpose to be presently referred to. The board 9 is preferably formed of a suitable stiff fiber of requisite thickness in accordance with the size of the sign.

The sign letters or characters, indicated generally by the numeral 15, are each in the form of a channel-shaped, metal casting, the

spaced angular walls or flanges of which preferably taper in thickness as clearly shown in'Fig. t of the drawings. In the channels of the letter at properly spaced points, solid webs 16 are formed having threaded openings 17 therethrough. The sign letters are adapted to be arranged upon the front face of the fiber board 9 with the contact screws 12 projecting into the channels of the letter, and the threaded openings 17 are positioned in registering relation with the openings 14 in the board. Screws 18 are then inserted through these openings and threaded into the openings 17 of the sign letter, whereby the letter is securely fixed in place upon the front face of the board.

ings' of the sign letter, the contact heads thereof bear against the ends of the screws '11 and form a good metallic contact therewith. 7

To one screw 18 and'one of the contact bolts 11 of each sign letter, the terminals of the battery wires 22 are connected. A backboard 23 is adapted to be arranged over the rear sides of the frame strips 5 and is detachably fixed thereto by. means of the screws '24. The battery wires 22 are extended through openings in this board and are joined by means of a separable connector 25 to the wire sections 22 which lead to the batteries. The upper section of the connector 25 is fixed to the backboard 23 by means of oneoor more screws indicated at 26. Each ofthe sections of the connector is provided with binding screws 27 to engage the barred wires 22 and 22 extending through the respective sections of the connector. These wires are suitably joined together and it will be understood that by loosening the binding screws 27, the lower section of the connector may be moved downwardly and the wires -disconnected so that the sign board may be removed. 7

Angular corner plates 28 are secured to the connected ends of the frame strips 5 at the corners of the sign, and in the upper frame strip 5, suitable hanger eyes 29 are secured, whereby the sign can be conveniently suspended. Bracket members 30 may also be attached to the lower longitudinal frame strip 5 by means of the screws 31, said bracket bars having one of their ends angularly bent, as at 32. When the hangers 29 are used to suspend the sign, the bracket members 30 are disposedlongitudinally of the sign frame and fixed against movement.

by means of the screws 31. The sign may,

i however,'be supported upon a base by means 7 Z of these bracket members instead of being suspended by the screw eyes 29, in which case the screws 31' are loosenedand the bracket members swung to a position at right angles to the frame, the angular ends 32 projecting slightly in advance of the lower edgeiof the sign. .Thus, the sign will be supported in a vertical, slightly inclined position. I

Q Fromthe foregoing description, taken in 7 connection withthe accompanying drawings,

the construction and several advantages of my improved electric sign will be clearly and fully understood. 'The several letters or characters may be very easily and quickly the attaching screws 18 for the sign letters' or characters by simply removing the back-7' board 23, it being understood, of course, that the binding screws 2770f the connector '25 are first disengaged. from the wires 20. 7 By the provision of the cast metal letters of channel-shaped form, :the entire signstruo ture with the letters applied thereto will be relatively light in weight-and can be readily hung in place or moved from one position to another. Such construction also enables signs of large size to be produced at relatively small cost. The provision of the cast '7 metal lettersapplied to'the sign'boa'rd-in the manner above stated also results in 'a sign of very neat and attractive appearance. 7 While I have herein shown and described the preferred form, construction and ar- '7 rangement of-the several'features of the device, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of considerable modification and I, therefore, reserve the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly V embodied within the spirit andscope of the invention as claimed.- 7

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is: r

In combination with asupport, a plurality of contacts carried by said support and elec-' trically connected in series, one of said contacts being in connection with a source'of electrical energy, a member of electrical conductive material overlying the support, devices for holding said member to the support, one of said devicesbeing of conductive material and in communication with the source of electrical energy, electrical lamps carried by the member, each of saidla'mps havlng one contact in. engagement with a contact carried by the Y support, the second contact of each of the lamps being in "elec. Q

trical connection with the member; 7 1 z I Initestimony whereof I hereunto aflix'my signature in the presence of two witnesses. 7 WALT. SWALLO W. V Witnesses: V I "G. 'L. HAMAUN, I

HARR'YW. Um... 

